


Something as Ludicrous as This

by caraxreve



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 03:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1728812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caraxreve/pseuds/caraxreve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on this tumblr prompt: </p>
<p>"Rin takes the train and spots a cute kid being groped by an old pervert. What does he do? Pretend to be an enraged boyfriend and have a fit of course."<br/>(http://marukaprompts.tumblr.com/post/63213562866/fluff-prompt)<br/>(http://marukaprompts.tumblr.com/post/63214717305/omg-thats-an-adorable-rintori-prompt-i-can-just )</p>
<p>I did change a few things, but the essence of the prompt is still there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something as Ludicrous as This

**Author's Note:**

> This work is not beta-ed. Please feel free to point any mistakes :).
> 
> WARNING: As the prompt mentions, "light"sexual assault is involved.

They met at the bus stop on the intersection of the 2nd and 10th. Or rather, Nitori met him.Tall, fit, face chiseled out in sharp angular bones, fiery red hair pulled back in a ponytail and much too handsome for his own good.

He stood leaning unconcernedly against one of the posts that held the bench together, thumbs leisurely hooked into the loops of his jeans and a provocative scowl set on his face; ready to get into unnecessary trouble and lash out at the smallest unintended provocation. Yes, exactly everything Nitori wasn’t supposed to want. So naturally, he did.

At exactly 5:26, Nitori’s bus pulled over. People lined up in front of the door in a hurry to get inside. Not this boy however, he waited until the very last possible minute to make his way to the line, something Nitori usually did himself because of his aversion to crowded spaces.

It ended in both of them trying to climb up the bus at the same time. Nitori immediately stepped back flustered. The other boy calmly moved aside, one hand still gripping the handle. With a small jerk of his head he gestured for Nitori to go ahead first. Quiet contentment spread over the latter’s chest.

He tightened the grip on his piano scores and made a curt bow before climbing up the steps. He slid his pass through the scan and made his way to his usual place: the window seat on the left, third row from the back. The other boy settled for the first seat in sight.

That was it. Nothing else happened, nothing particular or special, Nitori didn’t even notice at what point the other boy left the bus. He got home that evening and went with his usual routine, doing homework, playing with his little sister, and helping out with dinner. Still, once having lain down in bed, just like a snippet of a catchy song heard for the very first time, the memory of the boy on the bus stubbornly refused to leave his head.

~*~*~

Nitori jerked his eyes open as the bus came to a stop. It was the second time he had dozed off during the ride. He sighed in annoyance. He patted his palms against his cheeks in an attempt to shake off the drowsiness and opened his eyes letting out a small grunt. Then his hands and face stilled completely, his mouth fell open in a silly gesture. There he was, four rows front of Nitori’s left. _Him_ , the redhead!

His hair was down, his face was buried in a book and he was wearing a fancy white uniform, but there was no mistaking it. It was _definitely him_. Nitori perked up on his seat and looked at him attentively. Was he wearing… a _Samezuka Academy uniform_? Yes! Nitori was certain of this. He himself was planning to attend the same school next year! He leaned forward propping his arms on the front seat and tilting his chin to the side.

Now, he couldn’t be sure, but by the distinctive on the collar of his shirt he was almost positive the Samezuka boy was a first year student. He fervently hoped so, because if he turned out to be a 3rd year, this would be his last year and Nitori would never get the chance to meet him…

Just then the high school boy closed his book and got to his feet, swiftly making his way to the back of the bus. Nitori closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He only allowed himself a quick glance upwards as the other boy brushed past him.

Not so different from last time, he had no idea at what moment the other had gotten on the bus. This time though he did notice the exact place where he stepped off: _Samecho_ stop, right in front of the blue crystal building that shared the same name.

~*~*~

From that day on, every time Nitori rode the bus he would meet The Samezuka Boy. Always at the same schedule: getting on the bus 5 blocks north of the Intersection of 2 and 10, stepping off at Samecho building. And so he sort of got to know him, even though they never engaged in actual conversation.

For example: he noticed the older boy really liked dark chocolate. More often than not, he would see him chewing a bar. He never ate the whole thing though, only half of it and then wrapped up the rest. Nitori found that intriguing.

Then, he found out he was bilingual. Whenever he didn’t put on his headphones, he immersed himself in a book whose title Nitori couldn’t understand. The cover though, had a picture of a tall looming tower in the middle of a wasteland. There were mutant corpses scattered all over the place and couple of ravens were feasting on their flesh. Fantasy-Horror, probably. Nitori found that cool.

Lastly, he found out that in spite of his aggressive appearance, the boy was rather agreeable. He always greeted the bus driver and whenever he unintentionally bumped into someone, he politely apologized to them. There had even been an occasion when he followed a young girl to the exit and gave back the sweater she had accidentally dropped. On a different day he had hurriedly got off his feet to offer his seat to an old lady. Nitori found that… endearing.

~*~*~

It had been little more than a month since Nitori had seen him first, then came the summer and with it the rain. It was heavily pouring outside, and unlike the rest of the passengers waiting to get on, The Samezuka Boy didn’t have an umbrella with him.

The boy was drenched to the bone, and yet he didn’t seem to be bothered by it in the slightest. He pulled at the sleeve of his jacket, holding the bus pass between his teeth, and revealed a white t-shirt underneath. Then he threw the soaked garment over his shoulder and reached for the handrail, raking his fingers through his hair as he made his way to the back.

It was until _then_ , that Nitori realized his gaze had lingered far too much on him. He immediately turned to the window, determined to entertain his gaze with something else at least until the other boy settled down.

Model on a photo shoot performance aside, what had really caught Nitori’s attention was the fact he was wearing a tracksuit. Silky black, a white strip outlined in red embellishing the side of his arms. What, was he also some kind of athlete? As if Nitori needed any more reasons to increase his interest on the boy.

And then, before he even knew what was happening he heard the soft ruffle of fabric against the back of the seat, his eyes widened as the glass panel reflected The Samezuka Boy casually slouching right next to him.

Nitori remained impossibly still. All his efforts set on keeping his breathing steady and attempting the impossible task of squeezing himself closer to the window without actually moving at all. The older boy, obviously unaffected, pulled out his MP3 and set his headphones in place. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

A couple of songs later Nitori still didn’t dare move. He was absolutely sure his heart was pounding as loudly and as insistently as the drums from the blaring music that reached through the other’s earphones. There was this maddening feeling of cracking electricity weaving through the empty space between their bodies, and the heightened scent of the boy’s wet clothing absolutely overwhelmed his other senses.

Once or twice his eyes darted furtively to the side, and then a faint glimmer caught his attention. There was a pair of black goggles peeking out the pouch of his scrunched up jacket. A swimmer! Nitori briskly turned his gaze back to the window, eyes blown up in amazement and a startled grin across his face.

This was something he was _actually_ good at! He had even been in actual swimming competitions before. Sure enough, he had stopped when he had started middle school, but the summer holidays were just around the corner. He could start training again and eventually try out for Samezuka Academy’s swimming team!

He was so immersed in these thoughts that he actually jolted in surprise when The Samezuka Boy got to his feet. Nitori peered outside the rainy street and sure enough, they were less than two blocks away from Samecho building. He felt a longing ache pulling at his chest.

Nitori turned to look at him once more as the boy reached for the bus bell. A satisfactory rush flooded his chest and his heart fluttered in excitement. At the back of his jacket, printed in bold red letters there was a single word:

MATSUOKA.

~*~*~

Nitori didn’t dare think about him during the day. Well he _did_ , but when he caught himself spacing out he immediately put his mind to something else. He felt rather anxious at the prospect of someone finding out and certainly didn’t feel like explaining them the chimerical nature of his current situation.

Once the day was over though, and he safely lay in bed, he didn’t hesitate to let his mind wander… Next year, he would go to Samezuka Academy and join the swimming team. He and Matsuoka-senpai would become teammates and that would bring them close. They’d share all kind of memories and bonding experiences as they trained and go to swimming tournaments. And then they would become good friends. And then something really cathartic would happen, (like them winning the nationals or something of the sort) and in the midst of the general euphoria Nitori would blurt out his feelings for him. And before he had the chance to feel self-conscious about it, Matsuoka-senpai would hold him in his arms and assure him his feelings reciprocated. And then he’d kiss him fully and passionately. And Nitori would feel like melting and crying with happiness. And Matsuoka-senpai would smile, and kiss him again, and he would whisper his name, and caress him, and kiss him more and more and-

And then, Nitori would squirm and writhe, panting softly and rubbing frantically against the blankets…

And just before dozing off, thoughts halfway between awake and asleep, Nitori would fervently wish for the power to skip time forward.

~*~*~

It was a Friday during the Cultural Festival. The streets were packed with tourists and the traffic arrangements were all over the place. Nitori had been unable to get his usual seat on the bus and was holding onto the overheard support instead. People kept uselessly shuffling against each other as if it were actually possible to obtain any semblance of space. The constant jerking of the bus had his head swaying with dizziness, and the stuffy atmosphere wasn’t helping either.

A bulky man wearing a beige suit brazenly elbowed his way through the crowd and pushed him first face against one of the poles. Nitori tried to push back but the man didn’t move at all. He resigned to clumsily shifting positions as he moved his head to the side and had his chest press against the pole instead.

He let out a painful sigh. The bus was so crowded that no matter how much he craned his neck and stood on his tiptoes it was impossible to see anything. He hadn’t even the slightest idea how far along the route were they at the moment. Not that that mattered anyways, it was not like he was still hoping to meet Matsuoka-senpai under the current circumstances. If anything, he was fervently hoping the bus driver would just stop picking people up already!

As if his thoughts had been heard, the bus made an abrupt halt jerking everyone forward. Nitori felt his shoulder being harshly pulled down and he barely had any time to strengthen his grip on the bus rail.

He turned around and saw the aforementioned man in the suit struggling to regain his balance by gripping onto him. As soon as Nitori deemed he had recovered, he slowly pulled his shoulder back with an apologetic smile. The man however, clasped his hand in place strongly; refusing to let go.

Nitori tried to pull back again, the sweaty man let out a raspy cough as he knead his fingers onto his flesh harder and grazed over the joint of his neck and clavicle. The boy froze, not quite able to process what was going on or if it was actually happening... The man kept his head stubbornly turned to the side, refusing to acknowledge the improper behavior.

Before Nitori could think about doing anything else, the bus jerked once again and the man intentionally pressed forward. He opened his legs under the pretense of properly distributing his weight, but actually shoved his groin against Nitori’s thigh. Nitori parted his mouth to say something but couldn’t. His throat felt heavy with shame and indignation, and he felt the need to flee the bus immediately.

Unfortunately, trapped as he was, the more he fought his way out the more agitated the man became. He even let out a small grunt and Nitori immediately launched into offensive action. He braced one palm and the opposite forearm against his attacker’s stomach and pushed away with all his might. The fleshy bulk pushed back twice as hard. His wrist bent back in pain and he noticed his precious scores had creased under the struggle. Hot tears swelled at the brim of his eyes.

“ _There_ you are!”

Unexpectedly, the pressure relented and Nitori found himself stumbling forward with the momentum of his previously applied force.

“Oi! Careful!”

Strong hands caught his forearms, and pushed him back against the pole with a steady gesture. Nitori slowly raised his head, half expecting for it to be him but not really daring to.

“You okay?”

But it _was_ him.

“Why did you do that? You didn’t have to leave like that!”

A beige blur passed Nitori as it hastened to the back of the bus; Matsuoka-senpai’s eyes followed him with a hard look. Nitori shifted his eyes from the man to the boy and he felt his eyes tearing up again. He instantly lowered his gaze mortified at the thought of Matsuoka-senpai seeing him cry.

“Hey, it’s okay… I’m not really mad that you left, but I was worried!”

His voice was gentle and so was his touch as he reached out to push Nitori’s sweaty bangs off his face. The later flinched in surprise at the unexpected contact.

“Are you still mad at me? I know. I was late. I’m sorry. ”

Nitori looked around the bus in utter confusion. But _who else_ could he be talking to?!

Matsuoka-senpai smiled reassuringly as he pressed his forehead against Nitori’s temple and nuzzled his cheek playfully in a rather familiar gesture.

“I promise it won’t happen again. _Please_ forgive me?”

The smaller boy hastily nodded; terrified his legs would give way under his trembling body. Matsuoka-senpai pulled back with a satisfied grin and leaned back against the pole as well.

“Good. Now give me those, I’ll carry them for you.”

Nitori looked down at the scores and shook his head anxiously, mortified at the idea of inconveniencing Matsuoka-senpai.

“Fine, come here then.”

The older boy pulled him close to his chest and rested his chin on Nitori’s head, the gesture unfaltering and tender. He felt a rush of liquid warmth spread throughout his body. This was happening. Somehow, _this_ was happening. He was being held by Matsuoka-senpai!

He didn’t even try to make sense of the situation because there was absolutely no way he could. Instead he unconsciously pressed a little closer and let himself be comforted by the steady rise and fall of the other boy’s chest and the weight of his strong arm around his shoulders.

Most curious of all was, how whenever Nitori had been around him; he would get so anxious and flustered. Even the mere thought of him made his heart go erratically. Now however, _actually being_ with him, he felt completely at ease. The beat of his heart was calm and steady, appeased by their shared warmth and proximity. And Nitori felt completely relaxed.

He watched through half lidded eyes, as the bus gradually vacated. The rain had stopped and they had left the congested streets behind. The bus drove quietly and smoothly. Nitori let his eyes close just for once second.

Five minutes later he jolted himself awake looking around in disconcert. Had he just fallen asleep? Oh God… how long had he slept?! His eyes quickly darted to the street. He sighed in dismay as he realized they _had indeed_ missed Samecho stop about 6 blocks ago. Nitori searched for Matsuoka senpai’s eyes worriedly.

The older boy snorted lightly, he gave a quick glance sideways and then set his chin back on Nitori’s head.

“Oi, you feel like going to the coffee place?”

“Huh?” Nitori pushed back absolutely baffled.

“Well… I told you I’d make it up to you, didn’t I? So, I’m taking you to the coffee shop. You can have anything you want. My treat. ”

It took at least 3 seconds to click in that Matsuoka-senpai was probably just trying to get him off the bus safely, during the first two though, he had actually believed they were going on a date.

“What, you don’t want to?”

“Y-yes!” he assured him quickly.

“Let’s go then.”

Matsuoka-senpai leaned forward and pressed the bell. The action unobstructed Nitori’s range of view, and not only did he confirm the man in the beige suit was still there, but he realized his eyes were obstinately fixed on him. His hands were hidden below his suitcase and his mouth hung open in a daft expression.

Nitori shivered and awkwardly pressed himself closer to the older boy. He felt Matsuoka-senpai curiously looking at him over his shoulder and immediately extending his arm to pull him out of the way. He stepped forward, shielding Nitori behind his back.

The man averted his gaze boringly, as if he hadn’t been gratifying himself over the younger boy during the whole ride. Matsuoka-senpai’s eyes glowered and he took a step forward, his fists trembling, his jaw clenched in fury. Nitori instantly reached for his arm.

“S-Senpai…”

At that moment the bus came to a halt and the back doors opened noisily. Nitori tugged insistently, and let out a sigh of relief as the other boy begrudgingly followed him towards the exit.

~*~*~

They got off around a residential area and sat on a bench in front of a vending machine. Well Nitori did, Matsuoka-senpai paced around trying to subdue his anger. Eventually, he stopped and flexed one leg over the metallic surface of the seat. He watched the other boy carefully straighten the wrinkled corners of his piano scores.

“So…you okay?”

Nitori nodded, eyes cast down and unable to meet the other’s gaze. Matsuoka-senpai took a deep breath, and braced himself for the inevitable question.

“Did that _asshole_ did something to you before I got there?”

Nitori shook his head slowly feeling sad, tired and mortified. Mostly, he really didn’t feel like talking about this, especially _not_ with Matsuoka-senpai. The later seemed to sense this though, because immediately after, he turned his back to him and faced the vending machine instead.

“He won’t bother you anymore. I promise. ”

Nitori raised his head and looked at him in anticipation. Matsuoka-senpai gave him a knowing smile over his shoulder.

“We _do_ take the same bus, don’t we?”

“Y-you, you _noticed_ that?!”

“Well yeah!” he squint his eyes as if trying to decide if Nitori if was being purposefully daft. “Why else would I’ve pulled all that shit for if not?”

Nitori sprang to his feet and grabbed onto Matsuoka-senpai arms.

“Thank you!”

“Huh?”

Nitori stepped back, energetically pressing his palms to the side of his thighs and then bent his upper body forward.

“Thank you very much, senpai! If you hadn’t been there, If it hadn’t been for you I… _Thank you_!”

“Oi! Easy there! No need to go all _ceremonial_ on me. It was no big deal or anything.”

Nitori sat down uncertain about what to do next. The redhead let out a sigh and propped his leg back on the top of the bench.

“In any case, I can’t pretend to be your boyfriend anymore, you know? I mean, _I could_ … except you totally suck at it.”

“W-What?!”

“ _You suck at it_ , you are a terrible boyfriend!”

“I’m not!”

“You’re too! You flinch at the slightest touch, hardly talk at all and you wouldn’t even let me carry your books. How is that _not_ sucking?”

“That was because I had no idea what was going on!”

“Yeah, well you’re kind of slow too.”

“Wha- hmpf!” Nitori scoffed and turned his face around in a pouty frown.

Matsuoka-senpai broke into laughter.

“What’s with that face? Relax, I was just kidding! You were supposed to be laughing at this.”

He reached out to ruffle Nitori’s hair.

“How is that supposed to be funny?” Nitori protested childishly, eyes scrunched up and cheeks flushed.

He shyly peeked as he felt Matsuoka-senpai’s hand retreat; his gaze however remained over him way longer. The older boy seemed to suddenly realize this, because he jerkily averted his eyes and cleared his throat.

“So. I should probably get going...” he put his leg down and shoved his hands inside his pockets .

“Oh, okay. Me too…”

“Do you want me to-”/ “I’m already late for dinner!”

Nitori had interrupted him before he had had the chance to ask something he sensed it was in his better interest to hear.

Matsuoka-senpai hesitated for a second, Nitori tried again.

“I mean,-“/“Right. See you around then?”

The older boy swiftly turned on his heels and walked away.

“O-okay.”

Nitori blinked in confusion. What had just happened? One moment ago they were… well whatever it was they were doing, and now he was just walking away? Again? The thought was out of his mouth before it even came together in his head.

“COFFEE!”

Matsuoka-senpai jumped around with a start.

“Huh?” Nitori sprinted forward closing the distance between them and then lowered his head in a bow.

“Please have coffee with me, senpai! It doesn’t have to be coffee! You can have anything you want! My treat, of course! As a thank you...”

Matsuoka-senpai leaned forward, a coy smile on his face.

“Wait, what’s this? You’re asking me out?”

Nitori felt a fierce blush climb to the very top of his hair; he nervously twisted his fingers at the hem of his knee length shorts.

“W-well,-”

“Sure.”

“Really?” Nitori asked flabbergasted.

“Yeah… you’re pretty cute.”

Nitori faltered, absolutely taken aback. That didn’t make the words taste any less sweet, though.

“I’m Matsuoka Rin, by the way. You?”

“Huh?” Nitori said weakly.

“ _Huh_?? Huh…chan?”

“Wah! N-no! I mean, Nitori! My name is Nitori Aiichirou!”

Matsuoka _Rin_ laughed amusedly and nudged his foot against Nitori’s ankle playfully.

“So, coffee?”

He turned around and led the way. Nitori stood rooted to the spot, incapable of movement for a moment. Of all the countless scenarios his mind had ever come up with, it never occurred to him something as ludicrous as this could _actually_ happen. But it had. He couldn’t help but grin foolishly as realization set in.

“Oi! Are you coming or what?”

“ Y-Yes, Matsuoka- senpai!”

*~*~*


End file.
